Octane III 17'6 RMA Disappointment

[Hewhoist]

Hi all,

I've had an octane III since last year. However I struggled with high temps (95+)from the outset. Through my own efforts I managed an undervolt and repaste to get better temps. Before the repaste I used some pressure paper to check contact to find the heatsink made very poor contact with the CPU however the gpu made good contact and never struggled with temps after the repaste. After requesting a new heatsink I was made to wait around three months. Out of the blue they got back in touch to say the had the part in stock and would send it out if I was happy to install. I had to exchange the old one to receive the new one . Then when trying to install the new heatsink I noticed it was lower considerably on one side and upon installation would not fit into the screw threads properly. After a bit of manipulation it screwed in. Upon start there were problems immediately, temps crashing the computer on both CPU and GPU (which previously was performing impeccably). I corresponded via e-mail with the support team and they told me it needed an RMA to identify the problem. I sent it back the 26th of this month and today I received an e-mail saying not only was it repaired but also dispatched. Upon finishing work I've since looked on my PCSpecialist account to check what they diagnosed/repaired. This is what they've said;

Fault Report
After receiving your system we have been able to replicate the issue that you have described. This has been isolated to be a fault with your thermal paste and this has now been resolved.
The running temperatures do run high on this particular chassis, upwards of 90 degrees so please do not be alarmed. During our stress testing this is noted and the system was running as expected. When under load in future, something to help this would be to use the key combination FN + 1. This will turn the fans to 100% and aid the cooling.

The system has been stress tested overnight without issue. I then had a second technician look over the work that has been done and we are now happy for it to be returned to you.

We're very sorry that your computer had to be returned to us. We hope you have no further problems.

So the issue is thermal paste? Not a heatsink that makes almost no contact and will not even screw in properly? I should be ok with it running 90+ when using it and to run max fans all the time?? Seriously before the heatsink change I had it never running above 80 on CPU on demanding games and the GPU never went above 70 degrees.

I'm really dissatisfied with this outcome. A top end machine that need to run its fans 100% to stop it throttling and shutting down when gaming or even running simple tasks such as e-mail and browsing.

For the record I used Gelid extreme for its first repaste and temps did improve. After that I used liquid metal and they dropped to the aforementioned lower temps.

For the new heatsink I used Grizzly Conductonaut twice to ensure first paste wasn't an aberration. This is a high end paste which should have ensured best performance.

I can't understand how professionals have not noticed a heatsink that does not even screw in correctly. It was brand new delivered and I do not fault them for that but we all know not every part made is equal quality especially heatsink for these models. If I could have the previous heatsink returned I would have taken it.

This will be going back to RMA immediately as I'm not happy having a £2,000 laptop that has parts inside that do not align/fit correctly. Failing that I'll be seeking outside counsel about this.

 

[Hewhoist]

I received my computer back today. I've had two BSOD trying to run firestrike and three crashes due to artifacts. My GPU sat at 55 degrees idle is atrocious. I ran Heaven benchmark for less than a minute and computer froze with screen full of artifacts.

 

[Filbee]

I received my computer back today. I've had two BSOD trying to run firestrike and three crashes due to artifacts. My GPU sat at 55 degrees idle is atrocious. I ran Heaven benchmark for less than a minute and computer froze with screen full of artifacts.

I feel your pain and although I don't doubt PCS has good intentions, I do wonder whether there may a design flaw with these chassis. It is strange that unless you manually select the "maximum" (Fn +1) key combo, that the fan profiles will only permit 80% fan speed on automatic. This again is not something that PCS have implemented themselves but comes as standard as part of the Clevo firmware.

My conclusion is that Clevo chassis and quality control is far too random - some customers get machines that work, others (like you and me) get machines that lose the heatsink lottery. It is not acceptable that we should have to spend hours repasting, undervolting, downclocking and so on when we have paid not an inconsiderable sum for a laptop to perform as advertised. Lesson learned for me, first and last Clevo build I'll be buying. Sadly, this poor experience with Clevo rubs off on PC Specialist and damages their brand in my eyes - I'll not be using or recommending them again.

 

[Scott]

Just RMA it again. There's only so many times they can offer that service before a unit is considered faulty and a new replacement is required.

The Octane is definitely a hot running machine, understandable with the hardware, but 90+ is not acceptable regardless of what they claim.

In your shoes I would have stuck with the original functioning heatsink. Hindsight is a wonderful thing though.

 

[Hewhoist]

Just RMA it again. There's only so many times they can offer that service before a unit is considered faulty and a new replacement is required.

The Octane is definitely a hot running machine, understandable with the hardware, but 90+ is not acceptable regardless of what they claim.

In your shoes I would have stuck with the original functioning heatsink. Hindsight is a wonderful thing though.

Yeah I plan to RMA it back tomorrow. Really unhappy it worked so well for a short time even with the heatsink issue for the CPU. I'd happily have the old one back now

 

[Hewhoist]

I feel your pain and although I don't doubt PCS has good intentions, I do wonder whether there may a design flaw with these chassis. It is strange that unless you manually select the "maximum" (Fn +1) key combo, that the fan profiles will only permit 80% fan speed on automatic. This again is not something that PCS have implemented themselves but comes as standard as part of the Clevo firmware.

My conclusion is that Clevo chassis and quality control is far too random - some customers get machines that work, others (like you and me) get machines that lose the heatsink lottery. It is not acceptable that we should have to spend hours repasting, undervolting, downclocking and so on when we have paid not an inconsiderable sum for a laptop to perform as advertised. Lesson learned for me, first and last Clevo build I'll be buying. Sadly, this poor experience with Clevo rubs off on PC Specialist and damages their brand in my eyes - I'll not be using or recommending them again.

Yeah I understand that PCS aren't to blame for the parts sold to them. But they make out like the undergo rigorous testing etc and to tell me that 90 is fine for my cpu and gpu is just bad. I do believe this machine was made to run a little hotter due to poor cooling but why should I have a machine that burns for 2yrs and ultimately fails. Also where I have to run 100% fans just to open 10 browsers. I'll not be getting another Clevo either tbh once this issue is solved I'll be selling this and getting something else.

 

[Hewhoist]

I've heard from PCS today after contacting them. The person I'd been speaking with throughout this process has basically told me that the heatsink itself should have been changed regardless and that if I send it back now they will replace it and correct any issues. Also had an apology which is nice but this still means me sending back my laptop for an unknown amount of time and not having one for work which is a massive problem. I'm glad that I've not been ignored however and they've took steps to correct this problem.

 

[Gabor]

I have used my OctaneIII all day, nothing too demanding though (MS Office, Matlab, Firefox). All temperatures (CPU, graphics, card, etc.) are just under 40 degrees. Hopefully you will end up with a perfect specimen.